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Naisten Liiga (ice hockey)

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Naisten Liiga
2020–21 Naisten Liiga season
Logo Naisten Liiga
Sport Ice hockey
Founded 1982
Inaugural season [[as Naisten SM-sarja,
1982–83
as Naisten Liiga,
2017–18]]
No. of teams 10 in Preliminary Series
12 in Divisional Series
Country(ies) Flag of Finland Finland
Most recent champion(s) Kiekko-Espoo
Most championship(s) Kiekko-Espoo (14)
Official website leijonat.fi

Naisten Liiga (Women's League), also called the Naisten SM-liiga (NSML) or Jääkiekon naisten SM-liiga (Women’s Ice Hockey Finnish Championship League), is the elite league for Finnish women's ice hockey. Until 2017, it was called the Naisten SM-sarja (Women’s Finnish Championship Series).[1][2] The league has 12 total teams between two divisions and is organized by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association.

Kiekko-Espoo (previously “Espoo Blues” and “Espoo United”) has dominated Naisten Liiga in the 21st century, winning 14 Finnish Championships from 1999 to 2019.[3] Ilves is the second most successful club, with 10 championship titles, and are the only organization to have iced a team in every season since the league’s inception.

The majority of teams in Naisten Liiga share their names with men's Liiga teams (HIFK, HPK, Ilves, KalPa, Kärpät, Lukko, TPS, and Sport) but the women's teams have historically received few resources and limited promotion from the affiliated men's clubs.[4] In recent years progress has been made in building better relationships between the men’s and women’s teams; most men’s clubs now provide some support to their women’s counterparts by advertising games together or helping secure sponsorships.[5][6]

Teams[]

2020–21 season[]

Team name Location Home venue Head coach Captain
Stadin Gimmat

or HIFK Naiset

Helsinki Helsingin jäähalli Saara Niemi Karoliina Rantamäki
HPK Kiekkonaiset Hämeenlinna Metritriski Areena Mari Saarinen Riikka Noronen
Ilves Naiset Tampere Tesoman jäähalli Linda Leppänen Anna Kilponen
KalPa Naiset Kuopio Olvi Areena Marjo Voutilainen Emma Ritari
Kiekko-Espoo Naiset Espoo Tapiolan harjoitussaree Sami Haapanen Annina Rajahuhta
Kärpät Naiset Oulu Oulun Energia Areena Janne Salmela Suvi Käyhkö
Lukko Naiset Rauma Kivikylän Areena Marko Toivonen Maija Koski
RoKi Naiset Rovaniemi Lappi Areena Tuomas Liitola Jenna Pirttijärvi
Sport Naiset Vaasa Vaasan Sähkö Arena Marko Haapala Paulina Suoniemi
Team Kuortane Kuortane Kuortaneen jäähalli Mira Kuisma
TPS Naiset Turku Marli Areena Matti Tähkäpää Elina Heikkinen

Past participants[]

1980s[]

  • Ässät (Pori), 1982–1995
  • EVU (Vantaa), 1982–1990
  • Haukat (Järvenpää), 1982–83
  • HJK (Helsinki), 1982–1986
  • Jäähonka (Espoo), 1982–1984
  • SaiPa (Lappeenranta), 1982–1992
  • Shakers (Kerava), 1982–1985 & 1986–1996
  • Tiikerit (Hämeenlinna), 1982–1984, 1987–88 & 1989–90
  • Kiekko-Vesa (Raahe), 1983–1985
  • Teräs-Kiekko (Raahe), 1983–1985
  • Ilves-Kiekko (Tampere), 1984–1987 & 1988–1990
  • Ketterä (Imatra), 1984–85 & 1991–1993
  • StU (Savitaipale), 1984–85

1990s[]

  • Karhut (Joensuu)
    • JoKP, 1992–1994
    • Kiekko-Karhut, 1994–1997
    • Karhut, 1997–98
  • Tappara (Tampere), 1993–94 & 1997–2008
  • JYP (Jyväskylä)
    • JyP HT, 1995–1997
    • JYP, 1997–2000
  • IHK (Helsinki), 1998–2009
  • K-Kissat (Helsinki), 1999–2002

2000s[]

  • JYP (continued from 1990s)
    • JyHC, 2000–2004
    • Cats, 2004–2009
    • JYP, 2009–2016
  • KS Noux (Espoo), 2002–03
  • Y-Ilves (Ylöjärvi), 2002–2004
  • Team China, 2005–2007
  • LoKV (Lohja), 2008–2012
  • Salo HT (Salo), 2008–2013
  • APV (Alavus), 2009–10 & 2019–20
  • KJT (Kerava)
    • KJT, 2013–2018
    • KJT Haukat, 2018–19

Sources: [7][8]

Format[]

Season format[]

The season format of the Naisten Liiga has changed many times over the league’s history. The format described here was introduced for the 2019–20 season.[9]

Preliminary series

The preliminary series (Finnish:Alkusarja) is played as a double round-robin plus a two-game Opening Weekend Tournament; each of the ten teams plays a total of twenty matches. Points awarded by match outcome: three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win, one point for an overtime loss, and no points/zero points for a regulation loss. The points earned in the opening series determine which division a team will be sorted for the continuation of the season.

Divisional series

In the divisional series, the teams are grouped into two divisions of six teams. Each division is played as a double round-robin, each team plays a total of ten games. The top six ranked teams from the preliminary series qualify for the Upper Division (Finnish: Ylempi jatkosarja). Upper Division teams are guaranteed placement in the playoffs; the points earned in the ten divisional series games are added to the point totals from the preliminary series and used to establish the teams' playoff berths, from first to sixth. Only points earned in the Upper Division series are considered when determining the recipients of the Marianne Ihalainen Award, for most regular season points earned, and the Tiia Reima Award, for most regular season goals scored.

The bottom four teams from the preliminary series move on to the Lower Division (Finnish: Alempi jatkosarja), where they are joined by the top two teams from the Cross-Qualifiers (Finnish: Ristiinkarsinta) of the Naisten Mestis, the league directly below Naisten Liiga. The Lower Division teams compete for the seventh and eighth seed positions in the playoffs; only the top two ranked teams from the Lower Division earn placement in the playoffs. Unlike in the Upper Division, all Lower Division teams start the divisional series with zero points, only points earned in the series are considered when the teams are ranked.

Qualifying series

The Lower Division teams ranked third through sixth continue on to the qualifying series (Finnish:Karsintasarja). The points earned in the six qualifying series games are added to the points totals from the Lower Division series. The two teams with the highest point totals qualify for the following Naisten Liiga season, the two lower ranked teams are relegated to the Naisten Mestis for the following season.

Game format[]

A regulation game is sixty minutes in length, played over three 20-minute periods. In the event of a tie at the end of regulation time the winner is decided by a five-minute-length, three-skaters-per-side overtime period. If the game remains tied after the overtime period, the teams proceed to a shootout, in which each team designates three skaters to take penalty shots, one at a time, against the opposing goaltender. Teams alternate shots and each team takes one shot per round. The winner is the team with more goals after three rounds or the team that amasses an unreachable advantage before the third round. If the shootout is tied after three rounds, tie-breaker rounds are played one at a time until there is a winner.

Champions[]

All-time medal count[]

     – team currently in league

Team Gold medal icon Silver medal icon Bronze medal icon
Kiekko-Espoo[lower-alpha 1] 14 2 8
Tampereen Ilves 10 12 6
Oulun Kärpät 3 7 7
Keravan Shakers 3 4 1
JYP Jyväskaylä[lower-alpha 2] 3 4 0
Helsingin Jääkiekkoklubi (HJK) 2 1 1
Etelä-Vantaan Urheilijat (EVU) 1 5 1
Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho (HPK) 1 1 4
Itä-Helsingin Kiekko (IHK) 0 1 0
HIFK/Stadin Gimmat 0 0 2
Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) 0 0 3
Saimaan Pallo (SaiPa) 0 0 1
Vaasan Sport 0 0 1
Team Kuortane 0 0 1

Notes:

  1. ↑ Foster, Meredith (2017-03-21). Finnish Women's Hockey League Unveils New Name, Logo.
  2. ↑ Naisten SM-sarja historiaan - Ensi kaudella pelataan Naisten Liigaa (fi-fi) (2017-03-21).
  3. ↑ Foster, Meredith (2019-03-26). The Espoo Blues are the 2019 Aurora Borealis Cup Champions.
  4. ↑ Foster, Meredith (2017-03-24). Women's Pro Hockey in Finland Tries to Get More Spotlight (en).
  5. ↑ Aykroyd, Lucas (2019-03-29). Women’s Worlds media round-table (en). International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
  6. ↑ Teiskonlahti, Kirsi (2018-09-11). Naiskiekon arvostus on kasvanut, mutta ihannetilanteeseen on Suomessa vielä pitkä matka – kehitys vaatii hurmosta ja SM-liigaseurojen apua (fi). YLE Sport.
  7. ↑ Hunter, Andria (2008). Finnish Women's Hockey League Results: 1990-91 to 1994-95.
  8. ↑ (2019) Jääkiekkokirja: Suomen Jääkiekkoliiton ja Liigan Virallinen Kausijulkaisu 2019–2020 (PDF), Layout by Joonas Ahola (in fi-fi), Jääkiekon SM-liiga Oy & Suomen Jääkiekkoliito. 
  9. ↑ Sarjatoiminta: Sarjojen pelaamistavat miehet, naiset ja A–C nuoret: Kaavio Naisten Sarjat 19-20 (fi-fi). Finnish Ice Hockey Association (June 2019).

Sources: [1][2][3]

Women's Finnish Champions by season[]

Season Gold medal icon Gold Champion Silver medal icon Silver Runner-up Bronze medal icon Bronze Third Place
1982–83 HJK Helsinki Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa
1983–84 HJK Helsinki EVU Vantaa Ilves Tampere
1984–85 Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa HJK Helsinki
1985–86 Ilves Tampere HJK Helsinki Vaasan Sport
1986–87 Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa Keravan Shakers
1987–88 Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa HIFK Helsinki
1988–89 EVU Vantaa Ilves Tampere HIFK Helsinki
1989–90 Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa SaiPa Lappeenranta
1990–91 Ilves Tampere Keravan Shakers EKS Espoo[lower-alpha 3]
1991–92 Ilves Tampere Keravan Shakers EKS Espoo[lower-alpha 3]
1992–93 Ilves Tampere Keravan Shakers Kiekko-Espoo
1993–94 Keravan Shakers Ilves Tampere Kiekko-Espoo
1994–95 Keravan Shakers Ilves Tampere KalPa Kuopio
1995–96 Keravan Shakers Oulun Kärpät KalPa Kuopio
1996–97 JyP HT Jyväskylä[lower-alpha 4] Keravan Shakers Kiekko-Espoo
1997–98 JYP Jyväskylä Oulun Kärpät Kiekko-Espoo
1998–99 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] JYP Jyväskylä Ilves Tampere
1999-2000 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere
2000–01 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere
2001–02 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] IHK Helsinki Oulun Kärpät
2002–03 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere
2003–04 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät
2004–05 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät
2005–06 Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3]
2006–07 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] Oulun Kärpät IHK Helsinki
2007–08 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät
2008–09 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] Ilves Tampere HPK Hämeenlinna
2009–10 Ilves Tampere Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] HPK Hämeenlinna
2010–11 HPK Hämeenlinna Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät
2011–12 Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere HPK Hämeenlinna
2012–13 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] JYP Jyväskylä Oulun Kärpät
2013–14 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] JYP Jyväskylä HPK Hämeenlinna
2014–15 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] JYP Jyväskylä Ilves Tampere
2015–16 JYP Jyväskylä HPK Hämeenlinna Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3]
2016–17 Oulun Kärpät Espoo United[lower-alpha 3] KalPa Kuopio
2017–18 Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere Team Kuortane
2018–19 Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 3] Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät
2019–20[lower-alpha 5] Post-season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Notes:

  1. ↑ Liiga (W). Retrieved on 2019-07-06.
  2. ↑ Compétitions nationales: Finlande hockey féminin 1997-98 to 2014-15 (French). Retrieved on 2019-07-06.
  3. ↑ Naisten Liiga details.
  4. ↑ Mennander, Pasi (2020-03-12). Koronavirus lopettaa Jääkiekkoliiton alaisten sarjojen kauden (fi-fi). Finnish Ice Hockey Association.

Sources: [1][2][3][4]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :1
  2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :2
  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :3
  4. ↑ Salmela, Sari (2008). SM-sarjan historiaa vuosilta 1982 - 2008 (Finnish).

External links[]


This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Naisten Liiga (ice hockey). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).



Cite error: <ref> tags exist for a group named "lower-alpha", but no corresponding <references group="lower-alpha"/> tag was found

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